Geography Matters

New banner designs have arrived just in time for GIS Day! 

Display the "Discovering the World through GIS" or "Geography Matters" banner at your event for added decoration and inspiration to all of your attendees. 

Browse under the "Signs" section on the GIS Day materials page to view and download the new banners.

Now more than ever, financial institutions need to be savvy about doing business. Organizations in this market have been touched by the recent financial crisis and are feeling the effects from credit unions downsizing to stay in positive net worth, to real estate investment trusts (REITs) trying to pay down short term debts.

Organizations are using GIS to navigate in today’s turbulent economic climate, helping them gain insight for making sound decisions.   Read how SNL Financial, the premiere multisector-focused information and research firm in the financial services marketplace uses GIS. The technology helps many see information more clearly:  investment bankers better understand economic issues in business development;  project developers and infrastructure investors make more sound decisions; and fixed income, equity and sell-side analysts are able to meet their bottom line.  The versatility of GIS means it can be licensed or used as needed as a subscription service like that at SNL Financial to minimize overhead and training.

Many banks and credit unions like Security Service Federal Credit Union are also turning to GIS.  Security Service is using GIS to help them understand their marketplace like never before. GIS is keeping them ahead of the pack when it comes to customer service and business efficiency. This is a smart choice in today’s volatile market environment according to ESRI Financial Industry Marketing Manager Shelli Stockton; “Despite the recent turmoil in the financial marketplace, investment in GIS by financial institutions continues to grow as organizations seek to make the most informed decisions possible as they move forward.” Learn more about GIS for financial institutions.

Farm Credit Services of America, an agricultural lending organization, uses GIS  to find more accurate and efficent means of analyzing data and valuing farmland for agricultural loans. Using the system they have seen a 25% increase in Appraisal Team productivity without adding staff and appraisals are completed quicker.

While residents continue their clean-up efforts in the coastal region of Texas in the aftermath of Hurricane Ike, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) maintains it seaward vigil in grim anticipation of the next storm in what has become a very active hurricane season.

Visitors to NOAA’s National Hurricane Center Web site, developed in part with GIS technology, can find a wealth of information about past and present storms.  In addition, they can track the progress of new storms as they build in both the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.

NOAA makes some of its data available for free download.  For example, when combining its storm trajectory data with census density data from the Geography Network, the potential impact of an approaching storm on population centers can be easily visualized, as indicated in the following map.

 ESRI Romania is celebrating GIS Day 2008 with a five-part mapping project of the city of Bucharest. A group of 30 high school students are working in five teams to analyze and suggest improvements for various portions of Bucharest. They will look at everything from the natural resources in a local park, to creating a tourist map of Bucharest, to analyzing traffic trends in a busy part of the city.

Students will collect their data and finalize their maps using GIS software. The final project will be presented to both the local media and schools on November 19. See event details.

Post-Hurricane Ike imagery is now available via ESRI’s ArcGIS Online Services which provide ready-to-use content that you can easily add to your own data. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is providing the data.  Responders can use the data for a vast array of decision-support activities. Citizens either directly affected by the disaster or interested in understanding the nature of the damaged areas can quickly and easily view the assessment maps. 

A recent offering from ESRI Press, The Business Benefits of GIS: An ROI Approach, details a return on investment (ROI) methodology that explains how the implementation of a GIS can create business value for an organization. This book was written by David Maguire and Victoria Kouyoumjian, ESRI's chief scientist and IT strategy expert, respectively, and Ross Smith, a member of PA Consulting Group, Inc.'s management team and leader of the firm's GIS initiatives.

"Today's executives are seeking more sophisticated approaches for prioritizing and targeting investment in GIS technology and for proving how and when that investment will deliver tangible benefits to their organization," said Maguire. "The Business Benefits of GIS: An ROI Approach provides the steps necessary to quantify the return on investment when implementing a GIS project."

Maguire believes that a wide variety of GIS practitioners, including managers and business architects, will use the material in the book, in conjunction with the supporting Web site (http://gis.esri.com/roi/), to implement an ROI-based GIS project. The site provides access to all the tools and templates necessary to implement the steps in the methodology.

"The 10-step methodology leads people through the whole process, from the initial idea to a complete, compelling report that can be presented to a review committee or funding body," said Smith. "Although it is written as an end-to-end process, we anticipate that some organizations will use only portions of the methodology. For example, some may use the approach to create a budget or to model benefits they expect to be delivered by their ongoing work."

Kouyoumjian added that "The approach focuses on six key topics that we believe are critical to creating a defensible position on the value of GIS for any organization: demonstrate the real business value, determine the specific costs, estimate the time frame for delivery of benefits, understand the resource requirements, define the governance and management, and calculate the return on investment."

The Business Benefits of GIS: An ROI Approach (ISBN: 9781589482005, 243 pages, $24.95), is available at online retailers worldwide, at www.esri.com/esripress, or by calling 1-800-447-9778. Outside the United States, visit www.esri.com/esripressorders for complete ordering options or contact your local ESRI distributor. For a current distributor list, visit http://www.esri.com/company/locations.html. Interested retailers can contact ESRI Press book distributor Ingram Publisher Services.  The information in The Business Benefits of GIS: An ROI Approach is derived in whole or in part, under license, from the ROI Methodology of PA Consulting Group, Inc.

Author Victoria Kouyoumjian, ESRI's IT strategy expert, discusses The Business Benefits of GIS: An ROI Approach.

GIS Day participants all over the world volunteer their time, resources, and talents every year to plan and prepare presentations and demonstrations for GIS Day.  Our latest GIS Day stand-out is Mary Jo Black Enderby from Forsyth County, Georgia.  Her dedication and careful planning create opportunities for people all around her community to learn about and get involved with GIS.  Read Mary Jo's story, and get inspired to start organizing your GIS Day event.  GIS Day is November 19, 2008.

Originally set up in 1767, the Survey of India is the government's oldest department and in charge of all of the its mapping and surveying efforts.  Since coordinating the Great Trigonometric Survey, it has expanded over the years to 23 geospatial data centers and 18 divisions that range in responsibilities from tides to aerial survey.  The agency uses GIS extensively in its mapping activities.

The Great Arc (ISBN 0-00-257062-9) by John Keay details the challenges in completing the Survey of India's Great Trigonometric Survey or Great Arc, an epic project that both carefully mapped the country and measured the curvature of the earth.

Begun in 1800 by William Lambton, an English army captain, and completed by his assistant George Everest, for whom the famous Himalayan Mountain was named, the project stretched for nearly 50 years and 1,600 miles.

The survey process was based on triangulation, a method in which a baseline is accurately measured and the angles of the desired triangle are calculated by sighting a point with a theodolite, an instrument used to measure both horizontal and vertical angles.  One side of the calculated measurements of the first triangle is then used as the base line for the next triangle and so on.  The end result was a triangulation network of varying sizes that progressively moved towards the Himalayas.

This procedure is complicated because the earth is uneven and shaped like an oblate spheroid.  This means that the angles of the calculated triangles did not add up to 180 degrees and spherical excess had to be calculated and removed.

Lambton's Great Theodolite used by both William Lambton and George Everest during the Great Trigonometric Survey of India was capable of measuring both the vertical and horizontal access, it weighed approximately half a ton and needed twelve men to carry it. This image was taken from the 'Historical Records of the Survey of India 1830 to 1843', Volume IX plate 6.

This year we celebrate the tenth anniversary of GIS Day.  Since its beginning in 1999, more than 10,000 organizations in more than 80 countries have participated in this worldwide event.  Events have included everything from map drawing contests to treasure hunts, all with the same goal, to increase global awareness of GIS.  Read more about the memorable past ten years of GIS Day.  Visit http://www.gisday.com/ to learn how to start planning your own event.  GIS Day 2008 is November 19.

The new GIS Day 2008 flier is now available!  GIS Day is fast approaching on November 19^th and the new flier provides both information and inspiration for celebrating your event.  This colorful flier encourages educators, professionals, and students alike to participate in this global event.  Download the flier to help you get the word out about GIS Day.

Students with GIS experience can put their skills to use as a volunteer for Barack Obama's presidential campaign.

GIS Intern, Barack Obama Campaign Office, Chicago (March 17, 2008)
The Barack Obama campaign is looking for a few good GIS interns in our Chicago office. Campaigns are spatially based and, while offering no pay, these positions present an opportunity to learn some creative applications of GIS and help out a great candidate. Good ArcGIS skills required, minimum 10 hours a week and it would be preferable if you had your own license/computer setup. The specific projects will range from straightforward map creation to complex analytical work with large datasets. If you're an Obama supporter and looking for a way to use your specialized skills to help out please contact Patrick DeTemple at pdetemple@barackobama.com.

This year marks the tenth anniversary of GIS Day.  To commemorate this milestone, there will be a special display at the 2008 ESRI International User Conference.  The multi-panel display will include photos of GIS Day events worldwide, the history of GIS Day, and a few featured events from the last ten years.

Register your own GIS Day event and be part of the anniversary celebration!

"Well, we are now, because of her (State Chief Information Officer Teri Takai) help, we are moving full steam ahead. A perfect example is, for instance, GIS. GIS is a form of digital mapping technology, kind of like Google Earth but better. (Laughter) During last year's firestorm it allowed firefighters to see through the smoke, giving them a more accurate real-time view of the conditions on the ground. And because of that, many of them told me that saved lives and it saved an endless amount of homes. And this is just the start, because I have directed Teri to create a taskforce now to help other agencies and departments to tap into that vast potential of GIS."

— From Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger's keynote address at the Conference on California's Future on May 15, 2008

The new GIS Day poster is an ideal educational tool for K-12 students. The front side is a colorful poster containing GIS Day photos from over the years. The inside provides a brief overview of GIS and encourages readers to explore GIS by hosting a GIS Day event, thinking about a future in GIS, or visiting a collection of interactive GIS-related Web sites. Download the Poster for your GIS Day event.

Situated in the Himalayas at around 10,500 feet, the Gangotri Glacier is the source of the holy River Ganges.  Its headwaters pour from an ice cave on the glacier and flow for more than 1,500 miles to the Bay of Bengal.

Among more than 7,000 Himalayan glaciers, Gangotri is one of the largest, measuring approximately 18 miles long and 1-3.5 miles wide.

As massive as this might seem, a recent United Nations climate report indicates that the Himalayan glaciers, the source of Asia's biggest rivers, are melting more quickly each year and could disappear within only a few decades.  Rivers in the region, including the Ganges may become seasonal rivers, which has serious ramifications for poverty and the economies in the region, warns the report issued by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP).

The River Ganges is considered sacred in Hinduism and is said to flow through the hair of Shiva, a principal deity in that religion.  Hindus believe that bathing in the river causes the remission of sins and facilitates the attainment of salvation.  They often travel from distant places to distribute the ashes of their kin in its waters.  In addition, the Ganges provides water for drinking and farming for more than 500 million people.

Tracing the retreat of the Gangotri Glacier (1780-2001) - Image courtesy of Wikipedia